


Time Doesn't Take Long

by nymphadoracrashedthetardis



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Baby Fic, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-18 02:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9360902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nymphadoracrashedthetardis/pseuds/nymphadoracrashedthetardis
Summary: Somewhere along the way, Jake Peralta learned to be a great dad.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If you're looking for a sophisticated piece of work, this is not it. If you're looking for trashy baby fluff, you've come to the right place! No plot! No structure! But it's happy!
> 
> Now, I know next to nothing about babies or pregnancies, but I am sure of two things:  
> 1\. Any Santiago-Peralta child will be cute and clever as hell.  
> 2\. Jake deserves to be a dad.
> 
> This started as a winter hiatus speculation fic that was meant to be published before the last episode aired, but honestly I have no attention span and forgot about it for a few weeks. It's now a winter hiatus AU!
> 
> Title and mild inspiration from Jamie Lawson's I Wasn't Expecting That.

As good of a detective as Jake Peralta was, there were a few things in his life that he never expected- his father cheating on his mom, his Nana passing away so suddenly, getting along with Holt, and, perhaps most of all, having the privilege of holding Amy Santiago’s hand whenever he felt like it.

 

Which was exactly what he was doing one night after work. They sat on Amy’s couch under a knit blanket- the two of them always seemed to be cold- as Jake wondered where he would put all his things.

 

“How about my Die Hard poster over there? And before you say anything, I’ll get it framed so it looks super classy.”

 

Amy hummed quietly beside him.

 

“Okay fine, I’ll also coordinate the frame to the rest of the apartment.”

 

Amy only hummed again.

 

“You alright, babe?”

 

Amy swallowed before she spoke. “ActuallyJakecanwetalkplease. There’ssomethingIneedto tellyoubeforewemakeanymoreplans.” As much as she rehearsed that before, the words came out in a jumbled heap. 

 

Jake’s eyebrows furrowed and he turned to face her properly. He tightened his grip on her hand and nodded. Amy took a breath.

 

“I’m pregnant.”

 

A beat.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Well, I took about seven different tests earlier. I’m pretty sure.”

 

Another thing he never really expected- becoming a father.

 

* * *

 

 

So there Jake was, wearing a slightly stained t-shirt, with a pile of debt that was probably not suitable for child-raising, and a tiny Santiago-Peralta child he was going to be responsible for in less than eight months time.

 

Amy, being Amy, had a new binder going the day after she told Jake the news. One day, her (their!) dining table was littered in doilies and mail; the next, it was covered in papers and pens instead. A new baby was a new project, and a new project called for a new binder.

 

Jake, being Jake, spent twenty minutes nervously rambling before diving in alongside her. He didn’t stop grinning the entire time.   
  


(Amy did all the major binder work, but Jake was familiar with binder-ing now. He was the one who did the labelling and everything this time.)

 

And they discussed all the major issues like Real Adults. A new apartment:

 

_ “We’ll need a place with two bedrooms now. Where will we put all that baby stuff in here? It’ll make a mess!” _

 

_ “Shouldn’t we get something with three bedrooms?” _

 

_ “Jake, we should really be spending our money on things we only need right now.” _

 

_ “No, it’s so the next baby can have a room of their own,” Jake said in a  _ duh _ tone. _

 

_ “What next baby?” _

 

_ “We’re obviously gonna need one that looks like a little Amy and one that looks like a little Jake.” _

 

_ Amy looked ready to be sick then and there, but really, that could’ve easily been the morning sickness. _

 

Finances:

 

_ “I’m willing to sell my last massage chair.” _

 

_ “Good. Good! That’ll cover the cost of diapers then.” _

 

_ “The baby’s gonna use $800 worth of diapers?” _

 

_ “Yes! Maybe? Actually, I don’t know how to budget for a baby.” Amy began chewing on her thumbnail. “We’re gonna have to go out and buy some baby books.” _

 

_ “At this rate, we won’t be able to afford those, either.” Jake muttered, but followed Amy anyways, who was already halfway dressed and ready to rush out the door. _

 

Baby supplies:

 

_ “We’re just going in to browse. We don’t need to buy anything yet. We’re just window shopping.” Amy’s pep talk slash reminder took place outside of a baby store a few blocks down from their place. It was brightly lit and oddly minimalist for a baby store, and looked dreadfully expensive- which was why Amy’s reminder was necessary. “Got it?” _

 

_ “Got it! Got it. Let’s go in, it’s freezing.” _

 

_ They fell in love with a light green crib ten minutes into their visit, and with the encouragement of Denise, sales associate and baby expert, they left the store with four onesies and a stack of hooded animal towels. _

 

* * *

 

 

They seemed to constantly be in a happy bubble these days.

 

Of course, bubbles are meant to pop, just as rules and spaghetti are meant to be broken. It was mainly little things.

 

“Jake, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re going to have to change soaps.”

 

“The baby hates it?”

 

“The baby  _ despises  _ it.”

 

“Darn baby can’t appreciate a good discount soap.”

 

(Of course, he changes soaps because seeing Amy be sick was  _ the worst. _ )

 

But the biggest problem of all was all the  _ secrecy. _

 

“You’re a cop, Jake, you should be used to keeping your mouth shut.”

 

“Yeah, for  _ police matters _ . Is this a police matter? No, it’s a  _ baby matter _ .”

 

They plan to make it the whole requisite three months before they tell anyone, but they crack at about ten weeks. Later, Amy would blame it on Jake (who looked like he was about to burst from the excitement, and how could she deny him anymore?), and Jake would blame it on Amy (whose baby-growing work could not go without acknowledgement anymore). 

 

To set the scene: briefing room, mid-morning. Amy was sipping at her water bottle- coffee  _ and  _ cigarettes were out of the picture now and chewing on the straw of her bottle is all she had left- and making eyes at the back of Jake’s head. Jake was facing forward, wishing he was making eyes at Amy, and listening to Terry at the front.

 

“Rosa, take Jake and go talk to the husband.”

 

Amy just about bit through her straw. “Sarge, shouldn’t I go instead of Jake?”

 

“For what reasons?”

 

“He’s- needed here.”

 

Beside Rosa, Gina’s head rose from her phone for the first time in almost twenty minutes. Jake’s face formed into a strained smile. “Babe. I can go. Really.”

“I better go.”

 

“He’s probably a murderer,  _ I  _ should go.”

 

“ _ I  _ have a gun.”

 

“So do I!”

 

“What the hell is going on?” Rosa asked.

 

Amy looked at Jake. Jake looked at Amy. It took them all of three seconds to make a decision.

 

“Alright, we’ll tell you. You were going to find out soon anyways. We- Actually, can we get a drumroll first?” Jake flipped through his phone as Charles drummed loud enough for the rest of the squad. “Thank you Charles. The big new Amy and I have is- this!” Jake flipped phone around to show the group.

 

“Is that your new apartment? You finally found one?”

 

“What? No. Well, yes, we’re moving in next month but that’s not it.” He flipped to the right photo. “This is it!”

 

It takes the squad a moment to make out the tiny picture of the sonogram, but within seconds, Charles is crying, Terry is hugging them, and Gina was loudly telling everyone she figured it out  _ weeks _ ago.

 

And in reality, it was probably both of their faults, but it didn’t  _ really _ matter.

 

* * *

 

Once the squad found out, they figured they could tell their parents too. Karen came first, being the closest to them, and they made plans to visit her for dinner later that week. Amy baked cookies to bring for dessert to calm herself down that morning, and Jake nervously ate one while waiting for Amy to get ready. They tossed them all on their way to the car after he almost breaks a tooth on it, and picked up a pie on their way over instead.

 

Karen welcomes them both when they arrive. Amy almost blurts it out when Karen hugs her and Jake nearly cries at his turn. They make it until they’re all seated for dinner, where Amy’s glass of wine sits untouched and she makes wary eyes at the steamed vegetables in from of her (no cooked vegetables for her anymore- she blames Jake for that). 

 

Karen finished telling them about her untimely run-in with an old friend and looked them over as if she already knew something. Jake looked down at his plate. They agreed to wait to tell her over dessert, but he never did stand a chance against his mother when she was interrogating him.

 

“So, what’s new with the two of you?”

 

Beside him, it seemed that Amy didn’t stand a chance either. She takes a breath, then another, then blurts it out all at once. Then they’re all crying and Karen’s coming around to hug them again. Then the baby pictures are being pulled out, but by then, Jake’s too happy to care.

 

* * *

 

“You’d think the excitement would wear off by now, but I’m still just as pumped.”

 

“I know! But that means I’m just as nervous this time around,” Amy carefully changes lanes and taps her fingers on the steering wheel. With the move keeping her busy, she had been able to keep her hands and mind occupied, but as they settled in, she was running out of things to do. With their weekend visit to her parents’ place, her nerves were at an all-time high. 

 

“Relax, Ames. Your dad already tolerates me. I only have one parent to charm now!”

 

“I guess.”

 

“And it’s not like you’re sixteen and knocked up. You’re just thirty four and knocked up.”

 

Amy glares at him briefly before bringing her eyes back on the road. “One of my brothers did get his girlfriend pregnant in high school, so I guess I could bring that up if anything goes wrong.”

 

“That’s the spirit!”

 

They arrive at the house just after noon. Jake’s back cracked after standing up after so many hours in the car. The Santiago house was modest, in a quiet neighborhood with shady trees. Very suddenly, very traitorously, Jake’s confidence melted into slight worry. As Amy walked up the steps to the front door (painted blue, to match the shutters), Jake walked a few paces behind her. 

 

“Hiding behind me won’t help anything, you know.”

 

Trust Amy to call him out.

 

Jake didn’t have a chance to respond before the front door opened and a woman was pulling Amy in a tight hug.

 

“It’s been so  _ long _ , I’ve almost forgotten what you  _ look _ like!”

 

“Aw, I’ve missed you too. How’s the ankle?” Around Amy’s mom’s leg was a walking boot decorated with a red bow. 

 

“I’m finally walking, so I’m not going to complain,” She finally tears her gaze away from her daughter. “And you’re Jake!”  She drew in in for a hug.

 

“So, what’s with the bow?” asked Amy, stepping around them to get inside. She pulled Jake into the living room while handing her mother the store-bought pie.

 

“Oh, we were watching little Kya the other night and she thought my boot needed some decorating.” 

 

“That’s so sweet.”

 

“Isn’t it? I wish more of the grandkids lived closer so I can see them more,” she gave Amy a Look. “Can’t wait until you and your brothers in the city get started,” she sounded only half-serious.

 

Amy glanced back at Jake. Jake was admiring the childhood photos on the bookshelves. 

 

“Actually, that’s what we’re here to talk to you about.”

 

“You’re serious? You’re going to have a baby?” Amy nodded. “Darling!” Amy was pulled into another hug so tight Jake was pretty sure the baby would be squashed. Her mom caught his eye and motioned him to join. (He joined happily. He’s a hugger joining another family of huggers.)

 

In the doorway behind them, Victor Santiago’s mustache twitched only slightly before he came over to congratulate them.

 

* * *

 

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Amy kept a detailed record of her pregnancy in their baby binder. The baby’s size, development, and picture were all lined up in a handwritten chart in section three. In addition, Jake kept a shorter, more personal list in his head as they wait for their baby to grow into an actual human. He marked his time by Baby Weeks, and by milestones.

 

_ 1\. By each time they added something to the baby’s room. _

 

It felt very real when Amy told him she was pregnant. It felt very real when they went in for her first appointment. It felt very, very real every time Amy ran to a garbage to be sick. But when they installed that light green wooden crib in their baby’s bedroom, it felt a different sort of real. 

 

“It seems really big for something so tiny.” They were sitting in the middle of the room, Amy’s toolbox spread out around them. 

 

“The baby’ll grow into it. They’ll be sleeping in here for a few years.”

 

“Geez.”  _ Years. _

 

_ 2\. By the pieces of advice his friends give him. _

 

Among the best were: 

 

“I have the best baby food recipes, I’ll email them to you  _ immediately.  _ You have to start your baby’s diet right, _ ”  _ and other variations on that idea, all from Charles. 

 

“The best thing you can do for your baby is to be there for them,” from Terry, who was not crying but was about to.

 

“Remember, if you don’t like your baby, you can always abandon it in front of a church in the first thirty days,” from Gina, who, to be honest, will be ignored.   
  


 

_ 2b. By times he cried after being given advice. _

 

Even after Gina’s, because she brought along a onesie with little tap shoes on them.

 

_ 3\. By the times he was welcomed into the Santiago family (his family, now). _

 

He’s met Mr. and Mrs. Santiago, of course, and he met brothers One and Two that live in the city numerous times. By the time the baby’s born, Jake has met numbers Three and Four (Three arrived with a very soft stuffed giraffe, and Four the tiniest police costume in the world). The number rises to Six out of Seven in the months following the birth. He meets number Seven, who lives the farthest away, the following Christmas. By that time, Jake’s in two separate Santiago group chats. 

 

Somewhere along the way, he makes a joke about catching ‘em all. Amy just laughs.

 

_ 4\. By shiny rings that catch his eye. _

 

They did before, too, but now they seemed shinier than ever. He didn’t act on the impulse- yet.

 

(Much later, he’ll surprise Amy with a ring Gina helps him pick out, and she manages to whip out a ring of her own for him. They don’t think they’ll manage to be any sappier after the baby comes, but they prove themselves wrong.)

 

_ 5\. By every new ultrasound he sets as his phone background. _

 

And the background of his work computer. And, once, pulled up on the big screen in the briefing room. He’s obsessed. 

 

* * *

Despite Amy’s nerves throughout her pregnancy- Jake honestly thought she would wear a hole in their floor from all her anxious pacing one night about seven months in- she faced labour with the same steady determination she did her job with.  She, very calmly, announced they needed to go to the hospital. Her shoes were on and her overnight bag was in hand by the time Jake managed to calm himself down enough to find his car keys.

Seeing her cry was worse than seeing her be sick, and hearing her scream made _him_ want to cry, and his hands shook more than they probably ever shook before as he cut the cord and met his daughter.

 

(But he was happy.)

After (after Amy’s gone to sleep, and after he watched his baby sleep for hours, and after he matched up all of her features to his and Amy’s) Jake sat on a bench in the waiting room while Charles ran off to get him a muffin for dinner. 

“How are they doing?” Holt was there, holding an uncharacteristically colourful bouquet of balloons. Jake motioned for him to sit.

“They’re good. They’re sleeping now, I thought I’d give them some quiet.” His voice was a little hoarse, after no sleep and lots of crying.

 

“How are you doing?”

 

“I’m good. I’m so happy.”

 

“I’m very proud of both of you, Jake. You’ll going to be a great father.”

 

“Thanks. I really hope so,” Jake looks at the balloons. “Did you pick those out yourself?”

 

“I thought they looked festive.”

 

(Jake spends half of his paternity leave staring at his daughter, and the other half trying to make baby food. A year later he’ll make a tiny baby birthday crown out of coloured felt from Amy’s craft drawer. And when Jake works to make Sargent, a year after Amy, he studies for his exam every night with his daughter on his lap. A great father, indeed.)


End file.
